David Harvey and Brain Death

Post navigation

Social nihilism entails being upfront about futility and boredom, and wow, does that describe trying to read long-tenured distinguished this-and that professor o’ cultural who-knows-what David Harvey’s The 17 Contradictions of Capitalism that Everyone knows about. This is leftism? This is all that stands against the monolithic right? This utter tripe and bilge, fantastically obvious and long-winded, from a righteous, pious intoner of material so vapid as to be dead, completely dead. After pages of intense obviousness, Harvey lists his conditions for “praxis” to bring about that New World, with piety of such stunning obtuseness that you could get better versions of reality at a kindergarten lunch table.

Here is a representative pifflegab from the world’s most cited social scientist, or something like that:

When you look at the global situation you sense there is a volcanic situation bubbling beneath the surface of society and you never know when and where it is going to explode next (who would have thought Istanbul, even though it was plain to me on my earlier visit there that there were a lot of discontents). I think we need to prepare ourselves for such eruptions and build as far as we can, infrastructures and organisational forms capable of supporting and developing them into sustainable movements.

Sure, I’m a-gonna prepare me for some volcanic eruptions. You wouldn’t by any chance be lactose intolerant, Prof. Harvey? Were you trying the Wendy’s chili again?